


Beginnings

by fezwearingjellybananas



Series: Milk and Sugar 'verse [12]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everyone's here this time, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:27:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28460877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fezwearingjellybananas/pseuds/fezwearingjellybananas
Summary: Barry Allen is the fastest man alive. A superhero. He's been to other worlds, fought aliens and time travellers, this one time Helen of Troy saved him from being stabbed by Blackbeard, he's been framed for murder and might or might not have technically sort of died at least once in hindsight, but none of that could possibly have prepared him for this.He means the wedding, of course. The rest is all a standard Tuesday.(Part 12/12)
Relationships: Barry Allen/Eddie Thawne, Caitlin Snow/Iris West, Cisco Ramon/Hartley Rathaway, Linda Park/Wally West
Series: Milk and Sugar 'verse [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/875340
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Beginnings

Zari was good at hiding. She’d grown up hiding. And she couldn’t afford to slip up again. Not after what happened to Behrad.

It was even easier than normal to slip away from the Legends. Jax and Sara had spent the night at Mrs Jackson’s, so they weren’t even on the _Waverider_ to miss her. Zari still had no idea what Mick did while they were in Central- and she wasn’t sure she wanted to either- but she hadn’t seen him all morning. Ray was distracted with John and Charlie. The only one who saw her leave was Gideon, and she knew what was going on. She wouldn’t talk about it with Zari and Zari had her own theories about that, but Gideon was more than happy covering for Zari if any of them did notice.

She’d have a while. As long as she didn’t arrive late, no one would notice she’d slipped off before.

She’d expected them to be here. But Gideon had warned her of a lot of fluctuations, and this needed to happen.

The bridge looked different. But stepping on board felt so familiar.

Jonas’ office had hundreds of newspaper clippings now. A lot were from the Citizen, past and future from when they were standing. And Zari could see a lot about Cicada.

“You did say you were going to talk to Miranda months ago,” she said.

“I know,” Jonas said. “Well, we skipped a bit, it hasn’t been as long for us as it has for you.”

“Jonas.”

“Agent Druce and his cronies showed up again,” Jonas said. “We had to skip around to lose them again. There’s still no sign of Bart, but we had to pick Jenni and Jeven up. We still don’t know what happened to Avery, apparently Aunt Lily and Aunt Laurel went looking and didn’t come back, I… Druce has been meddling, we’ve tried to undo some of it, but there have been just enough tiny nudges ripples have spread out. Have you…”

“Wallace and Avery are training with Barry, that’s back on track. They are a few months out, but they’ll get there. I have not seen or heard anything about Daniel West, but I know Iris and Linda are investigating Black Hole, I know they have a lead on Meena, I don’t know why Daniel isn’t with them. And they’re working with August Heart.”

“That’s right. He was friends with Uncle Barry before he became Godspeed. His loyalty to Uncle Barry won out in the end.”

“Barry isn’t a C.S.I. anymore. Iris has already started the Citizen. I know they’re tiny changes, but they are rippling a lot, Jonas.”

“I know. It’s, I desperately want to ask her for her help. But I don’t know what damage I will do. We looked at it. There was a tree across the road. A different ambulance picked Daniel up after he was struck by lightning and he was taken to a different hospital. Black Hole didn’t find out about him. He isn’t Reverse Flash, he’s not doing anything with his speed, I’m not even sure he knows about it, he certainly hasn’t been trained like they intended, but it means Aunt Iris didn’t go looking. Which means they didn’t show up to the wedding and send Daniel, which means Wallace didn’t reveal his speed to Uncle Barry, which means there was no Kid Flash, which means Uncle Barry was alone when he went to see who set the alarm off, which means he ran up instead of walked and he got up there before the police and didn’t have an alibi, so he was arrested. Because a tree fell down the opposite way it was supposed to, that was the change.”

“Nora got Iris and Linda in that room to hear and they’re onto Black Hole now. She got Wallace and Avery to Barry that night, but Wally was still fighting DeVoe. The satellite must have fallen differently. It isn’t David Hersch, and Grace Gibbons is still in a coma, I don’t know if he even knows about her. And we’re sure she was involved?”

“Positive. She’s the one who drains powers when other metahumans are near. She’s the one who worked with A.R.G.U.S.”

“And she’s our age, in this time. In 2024 she’ll only be sixteen.”

“Maybe that’s how they got Uncle Cisco. He didn’t see Cicada; he saw a girl and he tried to help instead of defending himself. For all we know Hersch was just the one A.R.G.U.S. pinned it on.”

“Tiny ripples. We can use them too.”

“Maybe.”

“Did you find out what they were doing on Qward?”

“Looking for the remains of the Anti-Monitor’s Fortress.”

“They want to interfere with the Crisis?”

“I don’t think they can. I know Time was collapsing with the universes, I know Eobard travelled back and helped the Anti-Monitor capture Uncle Barry, but that was a few weeks before, and he didn’t go back to the future until after so I think even he couldn’t travel to the Crisis itself. I don’t know what they’re doing, but they won’t find it. There were echoes of Uncle Barry thrown across the time stream as he ran to destroy the cannon, but the only thing left when the Justice League got there was Uncle Barry’s suit and ring, the cannon, everything, it was gone.”

“But they were looking for something.”

“Yes. And they have interfered. Nora found evidence Black Hole have Kimiyo Hoshi, and she shouldn’t get her powers until the Crisis, and the Justice League need her to defeat the Anti-Monitor. I don’t know how to fix this.”

“I think we have to rely on Iris and Linda. If they can stop Black Hole maybe they can get her back?”

“I hope so. I thought they just wanted Uncle Barry and Uncle Cisco out their way early, but there are so many consequences. If they change too much of the Crisis...”

“I know. I want to find another way too. Not just because of you, he’s my friend too. He promised to help me save Behrad, and I want to save him too, but I know how important that event is. The Anti-Monitor.”

“We can’t avoid him. There’s no way. He needs Uncle Barry because he can travel between universes. He used him to power the cannon. There is no way he wouldn’t come for him. And if he doesn’t destroy the cannon-”

A portal opened and Ava walked through.

“Zari,” she said. “Good. Nate said you should all be in town, but we picked up two _Waverider_ signals. Who’s your friend?”

Ava paused then raised a hand to her ear.

“Nate, I don’t think I’m copying you. Ray, John, and Charlie. Zari’s downstairs.”

Ava reached for her weapon and Zari reached for her hand and shook her head.

“Trust me,” she said. “Ava, trust me.”

“Prove you’re Zari,” Ava said.

Zari touched the totem on her wrist and a tiny tornado hovered above her hand.

“You’re still not sure you’re the right person to lead the Time Bureau,” Zari said. “I can explain everything if you trust me.”

“Jonas, I am detecting large fluctuations,” Gideon said. “Today’s events are changing.”

“Bollocks,” Jonas said. “Can you-”

“Already notified us,” Dawn shot onto the bridge. “Director Sharpe.”

“Ava, trust me, please,” Zari said. “The future of the world is at stake.”

Ava nodded and lifted her hand to her ear again.

“Understood, Nate,” Ava said. “Must be faulty equipment, Gary can take a look. I assume you’ll be attending your event now. I’ll see you when you get back.”

Ava lowered her hand.

“Well?”

“These are my friends, Dawn West-Allen and Jonas Hunter.”

“It’s a pleasure, Director,” Jonas said. “I understand you know my parents.”

* * *

“Please tell me you talked him out of it,” Iris said.

“He did have a good point,” Wally said. “You can’t crash a wedding you’re already invited to.”

“We’re talking about Lisa Snart. And Barry might not work for C.C.P.D. anymore but several people who will be there do including Eddie and Dad.”

“Mick’s coming.”

“Mick was pardoned by the president after the Dominators, Lisa robbed a bank this morning.”

“That’s fair. Shawna said they couldn’t make it anyway, they have plans. They might be bank robbing plans.”

“You asked Shawna too?”

“No, she dropped by last night to stop Axel kidnapping Barry.”

“What?”

“Axel decided since Barry was in Iron Heights with him and was nice to him and helped inspire him to find his own nemesis they’re friends and since his friend is getting married he thought he should celebrate and he showed up last night to invite Barry. By giving him a box full of knock-out gas which obviously didn’t work but Shawna showed up and dealt with that before Axel had time to register that and she put a stop to the whole thing. She also knows Barry is the Flash. I don’t know whether I should be disappointed we didn’t get to see what an Axel Walker stag-do looks like or not.”

“Wally.”

“You’re right, Axel thinks all fun bonding activities involve explosives, it probably would have been bad.”

“Could you not have mentioned this sooner?”

“I got distracted by the huge list of stuff to do today. How was your evening?”

“Productive. Ralph and I are planning on digging a little more into McColloch Tech. Still want to help with Negative Flash?”

“You really think it’s Professor Dhawan?”

“It’s my best theory. You saw another speedster.”

“Maybe, I don’t know. Gold lightning, Negative Flash’s was dark purple. Wally and Avery said she’s not the speedster they met the night of the Enlightenment, so we know there’s at least one more out there, and it makes sense that if the Speed Force opening up gave people powers, they would mostly be speedsters.”

“Do we know anything about that speedster?”

“Just that Barry said she saved his life and that she’d find us when she was ready.”

“He knows more than he’s telling us, doesn’t he?”

“Seems like it, but it doesn’t seem like it’s anything to worry about at the minute.”

“Iris?” Caitlin called from upstairs.

“I’ll see you later,” Wally said. “I told Mari and Amaya I’d pick them up.”

“See you in a bit.”

* * *

“Gideon, tell the others to hang back a minute,” Dawn said.

“Gideon?” Ava asked.

“Yes, that one,” Zari said. “She was made by the Flash. The first Flash of this Earth in this timeline. I think the Gideon on the _Waverider_ is an older version.”

“This isn’t the _Waverider_?”

“No,” Jonas said. “Not exactly. That was destroyed a long time ago and when A.R.G.U.S. were gaining power the Legends destroyed all records of time travel, including everything left over from the Bureau. So, we built our own.”

“Why?”

“My nephew’s missing somewhere in time,” Dawn said. “My sister went looking and we came looking for her. And we noticed Time is changing.”

“The Time Bureau-”

“Have limited technology,” Jonas said. “Based on the Time Masters, which according to my mother means there are people it won’t pick up. And with tiny changes you won’t notice until later just how big the ripples are. Cicada is active now. Except it’s not the Cicada we know because right now she’s a child in a coma. One of her many victims was our uncle. And that is crucial to A.R.G.U.S. gaining power.”

“You’re here,” Ava said. “You’re changing time.”

“We were followed by A.R.G.U.S. agents, we’ve been trying to stop them. And someone else is meddling with Time too. I have my suspicions. Director Sharpe, I am fully aware our presence here will have consequences, but given someone is intentionally manipulating events, it seems likely if we had not chosen to act there would be far more.”

“Ava,” Zari said. “They’re the good guys. Trust me.”

* * *

“I think something small if Hart and I decide to get married,” Cisco said. “This seems like a lot of work.”

“I think it’s nice,” Linda said. “Wally!” She waved and Wally rushed over with Mari and Amaya. He kissed her cheek.

“Hey. Hi, Cisco.”

“Here to get stressed at super speed?” Cisco asked. “Good to see you, Mari. Amaya, I thought you said you were coming the long way around?”

“You flatterer,” Amaya said. “I need to ask you something.”

“I think you are a good person and it was a choice made with love,” Cisco said. “Yes, there are consequences, the Legends said something about magical creatures all over the time stream, I don’t know, it’s probably the cause of this migraine, but there have been just as many good consequences, and we all know they would have caused the weird magic thing to happen eventually, no matter what they did, they’re walking disasters.”

“I heard that!” Sara called from where she was talking to Laurel, Lily, and Jax.

“Good!” Cisco yelled back. “Anyway, I can’t give you the answer you’re looking for. Time is vast, and I could show you a thousand different versions of that day and every version would have good and bad, that’s how it works. But in my opinion, you made a choice to try and save people and that is never a mistake. Now, we have around seventy years of catching up to do, I think, and I need to introduce you to Charlie, they’re a shape shifter the Legends met, they’re borrowing your appearance right now. Shall we?”

Cisco offered Amaya his arm.

“I could use your help, Mari,” Wally said. “I can see Harry talking to Mrs Thawne, someone should probably help.”

* * *

“Will you stop pacing?” Patty asked. “He’ll be there.”

“I know,” Eddie said.

“You didn’t tell anyone about Cicada, did you?” Hartley asked.

“What about Cicada?” Patty asked.

“Someone broke into my parents’ house yesterday, Eddie and Detective Addie went to talk to them, and Cicada showed up. Laurel and I were already close by, Jerrie asked me to be, he took off again quickly, but if he knows Eddie’s a meta I doubt it’s the end of it.”

“You didn’t...”

“I didn’t see them and if they were looking they only would have seen Pied Piper, not me.”

“Julian’s running the forensics,” Eddie said. “That spiral symbol was there.”

“You think it’s Black Hole connected,” Patty said.

“Rathaway Industries stocks have taken a bit of a knock recently,” Hartley said. “Spencer Young wrote an article about them dropping after it was revealed they disowned me and why which is odd because I came out publically a few months ago, that’s not news, and they started dipping after she published it. I’ve been spending a lot of time with Linda.”

“Well, I think it’s going to have to be a mystery that waits for another day. You really should tell Barry about Cicada as soon as possible.”

“I will,” Eddie said. “I assume Laurel told Lily and you told Cisco; he probably already knows.”

“Actually, Cisco was having a bad day yesterday, I left him in bed most of it, it’s why Laurel came with me instead, I was going to talk to him later.”

“What’s up with Cisco?”

“He didn’t sleep well, a lot of vibes mixed with nightmares and he woke up with a migraine, but he didn’t want to talk about it.”

“You don’t think-”

“Cisco would have said if he was vibing something bad,” Patty cut Eddie off. “If Cicada does show up, he will regret it when he comes face to face with your mother, Barry’s father, and Joe. Probably Captain Singh too, let’s be honest. Ignore all the superheroes who are coming, it’s those four I’m worried about.”

“Besides, a lot of the superheroes there aren’t metahumans,” Hartley said. “Just let the non-metahumans deal with him, I’d bet on Kara over Cicada any day.”

“You’re still pacing,” Patty said.

“I’m getting married, I am excited and also a little scared, I am allowed to pace,” Eddie said.

* * *

"Are you all right, Henry?" Joe asked.

"She'd be so proud of him."

"She would. I wish she could see this."

"So do I. She'd be so glad he had you, Joe. I am."

"I'm lucky to have him."

"Our boy's all grown up."

"I caught him, Cisco, and Wally skidding around the Speed Lab in their socks last week, I'm not sure we can go that far yet."

* * *

“They’re going to notice you’re not there if you don’t go soon,” Dawn said. Zari nodded. “We’ll keep an eye on the fluctuations.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the wedding,” Zari said. “I’m sure Wally’s already doing that. I’ll drop by again this evening.”

“We’ll let you know if we have to leave,” Jonas said.

Zari barely made a sound when she walked. Director Sharpe following her out was much louder. Not loud exactly but, well, Jonas had always noticed sounds and sudden loud ones usually made him wince.

“Well?” Dawn asked.

“I had hoped we could avoid the Time Bureau entirely,” Jonas said. “Jai mentioned an idea for extra cloaking.”

“But I’m sure you had a contingency plan.”

“Their memory wiping technology would undoubtedly be bad if it fell into A.R.G.U.S.’s hands, but that doesn’t mean Aunt Sara didn’t keep a back-up. But Zari had it handled.”

“You think we can trust she won’t say anything?”

“I think it might be a bit late for that.” Ronnie stuck his head through the door. “Has Zari gone?”

“You’re going to have to face her one day, you know,” Dawn said. “You know she doesn’t blame you.”

“Doesn’t stop me blaming myself,” Ronnie shrugged. “Anyway, we need to find my dad, I might have maybe tiny bit briefly disappeared again.”

“Ronnie,” Dawn said.

“It makes the most sense, right, I might not have vibe powers, but he almost disappeared because of paradox once, and if he’s the most vulnerable that echoes down to me. Right?”

“Ronald!” Tina yelled from somewhere.

“I might not have told Tina yet, Jai’s distracting her,” Ronnie said. “But we know whatever this is, Dad’s timeline is changing. Which makes the most sense given what’s about to happen. Gideon, back me up here.”

“I cannot detect the cause of the fluctuation,” Gideon said.

“Did Uncle Cisco help with that?” Dawn asked. “Or it means something is interfering with Dad too.”

“I believe the source of this fluctuation may be on another Earth,” Gideon said.

“Also makes sense,” Ronnie said. “This is not because I want to interfere with what’s coming.”

“I’ll go and do some recon,” Dawn said. “I won’t be long.”

* * *

"It was raining the day Joan and I got married," Jay said.

"Don't start reminiscing now, Garrick," Max laughed. "You know if you start talking about Joan, you won't stop."

"She's the most wonderful-"

"-woman in the multiverse," Jesse sing-songed.

"As beautiful now as the day you met her," Wally chimed in. Jay rolled his eyes.

"Kids."

“Speaking of kids, where’s Danica got to?” Max asked.

“She went off with Avery and young Wally, they’ve been comparing our Earths. It’s good for her to have friends her age. She gets on well with Terry.”

“Speaking of other Earths,” Wally said.

* * *

"I think you need this," Clarissa said. She passed Martin a handkerchief. "Oh, Marty, look at you."

"I'm quite all right, Clarissa," Martin said. He dabbed his eyes.

"Anyone would think it was our Lily getting married. Or Jax."

"Considering we planned on not having children, we seem to have ended up with a remarkably large family."

"Perhaps the particle accelerator was a blessing in disguise."

"It would mean nothing without you."

"You old romantic."

* * *

"I think my parents are flirting," Lily said.

"At least you don't have a psychic connection telling you-"

"Jax, do not finish that sentence."

"It's nice," Felicity said. "To see two people still be so happy after so long."

"We are all happy, aren't we? Funny, how awful things brought us together, and now we're here, we're happy."

"Yeah," Jax said. "Somehow we're all here."

"Somehow," John said. "Laurel's looking for you, Lily."

* * *

It wouldn’t take Zari long to get back to the _Waverider,_ especially not if she used her totem.

Ava looked out into the trees with her.

“You can’t just change time.”

“You were in Zambesi too.”

“And look at the damage it did. All these magical creatures causing even more damage across the timeline. Vibe and the Flash showed up because of that decision.”

“And they helped. If they thought it was a mistake they wouldn’t have. Besides, Jonas and Dawn’s priority is stopping A.R.G.U.S. making it worse, not changing it.”

“I know you want to save your brother.”

“Behrad died because he made me go first. He’s my baby brother.”

“It’s your past. You know what will happen.”

“And it’s worth it. Behrad is worth it. And stopping A.R.G.U.S., they have done so much damage and hurt so many people. Jonas and Dawn have lost so much of their family. You like Wally.”

“Zari-”

“This is their future. They have a right to be able to shape their own futures. And doesn’t Wally deserve a better future than losing his brother and sister and then his life?”

“You don’t know what it will do.”

“Not all of it, but I know some things. It’s worth it.”

“Okay. I’ll try and help.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s faster to portal.”

* * *

“Are you okay?” Linda sat down on the bench next to Cisco. There were black circles under his eyes. “Mari said you had a headache.”

“I’m fine,” Cisco said. “Where’s Wally? Leaving him alone to get stressed seems like a bad idea.”

“He’s making the rounds with Jesse. Eddie’s mother and grandmother don’t know he’s a meta or that Barry’s the Flash, Barry’s other two cousins don’t know, it’s just Hannah, Rob Singh doesn’t know, and nor do Detective Addie or Officer Kim, so Wally and Jesse are making sure everyone else knows that. I think Carter’s talking to Melody right now, mostly about Hector, and Wally said something about asking Ann to talk to Agnes. And Patty and Hartley said they’re just leaving with Eddie, I haven’t heard from Iris and Caitlin but I’m sure everything’s fine. And you’re sure you’re all right?”

“I just haven’t been sleeping well. I need to talk to Cynthia when she gets here.”

“She wasn’t sure if she could make it, something about her parents.”

“She’s coming, I can feel she is. She’s been spotty recently, hard to vibe, but she’s coming.”

“You’ve been trying to vibe her?”

“Today is supposed to be happy, it’s not the day to talk about it. Besides, I’m not even sure how to explain.”

“I might not understand,” Linda said. “But I can listen.”

“All right. Have you ever read Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? There’s this thing in the second book called the Total Perspective Vortex. It shows the person looking in the entire infinite universe and their place in it and it’s so impossible to comprehend people go mad then die. And we have a multiverse, there are infinite infinities stacked and stacked on top of each other, and I don’t even get cake out of seeing it all. And I do forget constantly, but it’s still a lot. I’m pretty sure when Barry was in the Speed Force he got the unfiltered version and that’s what caused that. I’m pretty sure our powers come from the same place, not in the Caitlin’s leading theory the exact dark matter particle that triggers the metagene is caused by the Speed Force, I mean the actual entity. Both our powers are vibration, you can’t measure speed without time, and without speed there is no time. At absolute zero everything stops because there are no vibrations. We can both travel between worlds, when Barry runs through time he sees things like when I vibe, and I can cut a speedster’s powers off at the source, I know our powers are connected. But the Speed Force has never spoken to me. They’ve talked to Barry, and Wally, and Max. Jay said they’ve never appeared in the same way to him, but I know Danica talks to the Speed Force. And I know they told Barry they chose him. If they choose and my powers come from them too, why me? I’m just Cisco.”

“You’ve saved the world with these powers,” Linda said.

“Maybe. But I can see infinity and I still couldn’t save all the bus metas from DeVoe. I didn’t see in time to stop Barry being sent to Iron Heights, I didn’t see what Amunet Black was doing, I missed the truth about Zoloman and Barry got hurt because he listened to us when we said to give him a chance, what is the point of seeing infinity when I miss so much?”

“You miss things because you are seeing so much,” Linda said. “There’s such a huge input you can’t possibly begin to sort through all the information. Do you like your powers?”

“They are a part of me. Being Vibe... They might have their problems but they’re good too. I might see a lot of bad, but I see so much wonder too. It’s just right now I’m seeing bad and things I really don’t want to see.”

“The future?”

“The past. It’s like the multiverse is yelling at me. Every time I try and sleep, I see a Singularity swallowing a world, I think it’s Earth-18. And Earth-18 didn’t have a Flash and Firestorm to stop it swelling, so it grew and it ripped holes in the multiverse, like the breaches to Earth-2 but they connected so many worlds. Jay and Max met because of one of those breaches. Only then it shifts, I see Dante, Armando, and me walking home, and I know that day, I’ve had that nightmare countless times, and I can’t watch it again, I can’t. Hence the not sleeping well. I could probably stop the vibing overnight with a power dampener, but it wouldn’t help with the nightmare, and now I don’t know what it would be like to be suddenly cut off from existence. Barry said when he woke up in the metawing he felt incredibly alone for the first time for a long time. I don’t know, it’ll pass, I just hope it can pass soon and I can sleep.”

“I hope you feel better soon.”

“Thanks, Linda. It’ll pass eventually. I just need a couple of minutes.”

* * *

“You know,” Oliver said. “I once told Barry guys like us don’t get happy endings.”

“What did he say?” Kara asked.

“Something about me pushing people away because I’m afraid to get close then lose them because I refuse to acknowledge my trauma instead of dealing with it.”

“He’s probably right. He once told me to talk to James, we both knew we liked each other, better to seize the moment and take a chance than wonder forever. And Iris helped when James and I were trying to work out how to balance everything. They’re good people and they deserve a happy ending.”

“It’s not really the end.”

“Life is full of beginnings and endings,” Kara said. “Some are happy, some are sad, I think most are probably a mix of both. But if you never know what tomorrow will bring, isn’t it better to make the middle as happy as you can?”

“Between you and Barry, you’re going to turn me into an optimist.”

“I was talking to Jay about his Justice Society, since Barry and Cisco suggested we have one. There’s a version of my cousin on his Earth. Older, same as Batman and Wonder Woman are older, but he said they had an old joke about how those three represent truth, hope, and justice, and even though I’m not from this Earth, maybe it could fit the three of us. And I thought you’re justice, I’m truth, and Barry’s hope, only Wally immediately said Barry should be justice, since that’s what he was searching for for so long, he built his life around justice, and he was searching for truth too. And I wear my family crest and it was turned into a symbol of hope. And you were looking for truth too. So maybe it’s not one each. Maybe we all have to be all three, which means you need to be hopeful sometimes.”

“If you want someone to be justice, you should look at Laurel.”

“Probably.”

“If your cousin exists on Earth-3, do you have a doppelganger there?”

“No. Apparently an alert triggered about fourteen years ago that it was detecting another pod, but nothing arrived, so Kal-L doesn’t know. Ray and I asked Gideon and she said Krypton is still alive in this universe, the Dominators had recent records, so if I have doppelgangers they must still be there, even if I do look like Ray’s cousin by coincidence.”

“I can’t imagine you as anything but one of a kind,” Oliver said. “It’s a privilege to know you, and you most certainly deserve a happy ending.”

“Everyone does,” Kara said. “Even you, whatever you keep telling yourself. Come on, I’ll introduce you to James.”

* * *

"We don't get together enough," Ray said. "We should meet up when the world's not ending more."

"Don't jinx it, Ray," Sara said.

"Isn't us being in the same room jinxing it?" Jax asked.

"I can't believe Barry's getting married," Nate said. "It feels like only yesterday we were exchanging nonsense conspiracy theories."

"It was yesterday, dude.”

“I still can’t believe that’s how you met,” Sara said.

“I can,” Dinah said. “You never met teenage Barry.”

“Do you think that's why Reverse Flash made you a conspiracy theorist in Doomworld?" Jax asked.

"First of all, Doomworld me was right, the world was wrong, second, Barry and I first got talking after disproving a conspiracy theory, I was looking for information on the J.S.A., he was looking for Reverse Flash, neither of us were talking about how the Moon is a fake."

"You mean the Moon landing," Jax said.

"No, I mean the actual Moon, it was a really weird article. Apparently the government blew it up during the Cold War and the Moon Landing was a cover to replace it with, if I remember right, a comet they roped into Earth's gravity?"

"Sounds convincing," Mick said. "You still got it?"

"Mick, you were in NASA while I was on the Moon," Ray said. Mick shrugged and got up. "Mick!"

"He's kidding, right?" Dinah asked as Ray chased after him.

"Probably," Sara said.

* * *

“Maybe we should have asked Gideon if there was a way she could come,” Kendra said.

“I asked yesterday,” Miranda said. “She said something about interacting too much with Barry had the potential to cause paradoxes. I think she’s making excuses, she used to love bringing Rip and I to see Barry when we were younger.”

“She’ll be up to something. Barry’s not even here yet.”

“I’m sure he’s on his way.”

* * *

“This is the Reverse Flash?” Wallace asked. He stopped next to Barry to avoid Eobard’s lightning bolt. “Seriously?”

“Unfortunately,” Barry said. “Look, Eobard, it’s never nice to see you and I really wish you’d stop time travelling, you will regret it one day-”

“You’ll regret it when I kill you, Flash,” Eobard said. He charged at Barry and Barry side-stepped and tripped him over.

“You’re so annoying young. Look, I have a lot to do today already, can you just come back tomorrow?”

“You’re not going to be-”

Barry punched him as he flew at Barry again.

“What do we do?” Wallace asked.

“You go help the others; I’ll deal with him.” Barry gestured at where Avery and Danica were still attempting to separate the two boys they’d found. “It’s fine, Kid Flash, it’s just Reverse Flash, I can easily take care of this myself.”

“Scared I’ll hurt your little sidekick, Flash?” Eobard sneered.

“Eobard, if you lay a finger on any of those kids, I won’t be the one with a hand in my chest.”

“Grampa!” the first boy who’d shown up, the one in the red and white suit with yellow goggles and more hair than Barry had ever seen in his life, protested. Even the blond one in the green and black suit who’d barely paused in his attempts to possibly murder his twin paused and looked at Barry with interest.

“Grandpa?” Eobard asked. “You have grandchildren?”

“You don’t know how old I am,” Barry said.

“I know you’re not old enough to have grandchildren.”

“You’ve never seen my birth certificate. I could be a hundred and six for all you know.”

“You’re not. I can see that much under your mask.”

“Speed Force changes how you age,” Barry shrugged.

“That’s true,” the red and white suited grandson said. “I’m actually three and Inertia’s two.”

“4th October, 1956,” Barry said. “Maybe. Who knows. I’m definitely not telling you.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Eobard launched himself at Barry, and they both took off running.

* * *

“I’ve noticed too,” Rip said quietly. Zari looked at him. “Time changing. I don’t know if it’s good or bad.”

“Have you told them?”

“Not yet. I’m not an expert on the Age of Heroes. The Time Masters always kept us away. Time Master Druce said there were too many speedsters in this era, too much set time travel between the Flash Family and Reverse Flash, it was too dangerous. But in the end they were manipulating time for their own gain and he worked with Savage, handed him Miranda and Jonas. For all I know, they were more worried about crossing Vibe than Time Wraiths. You haven’t said anything either.”

“How do I know it’s not shifting because of me? Or because of what we did in Zambesi?”

“I was nineteen when I first met Barry. Hopelessly in love and terrified and Gideon said she knew someone who could help then brought me to the Flash. She brought Miranda and I a lot. Barry walked Miranda down the aisle. He was my friend, this fixture in my life, but what was years for us was months for him and it was already 2024. And one day I went to see him, we talked about Jonas and kids and he smiled and I realised he was never going to be sitting on that bench again. And when we’d met he was this timeless legend, ancient and powerful, but then I spent time with him, I grew up, he was a man who wanted to spend time with the people he loved, he made time in there for us, and he was young. I’m older now than my friend ever got to be.”

“If time shifts, he won’t be that Barry again.”

“No. I think it’s already shifted away. And that’s okay. I grieved my friend already, and I have a second chance, this Barry is my friend too, and I would rather he lived. I didn’t think it was possible, the Time Masters taught us time wants to happen and maybe some parts can’t be changed but if Cisco tells me time can be rewritten, there is always a chance, I’ll believe him over them. I don’t know how we do it but if anyone can, it’s them. Barry gave me Miranda and Jonas back when I never thought I’d see them again. He’d do the same for you if you asked.”

“I know. I want to. I want my brother safe and happy. But A.R.G.U.S. need to be stopped. It’s their future. Your future.”

“Will you tell the Legends?”

“You formed them to change time.”

“The Time Masters refused my request to stop Savage and Gideon opened the files of Ray, Jax, Martin, Sara, Kendra, Carter, Leonard, and Mick. She said she had a standing request; I know it was him who sent me to them, him encouraging me to take it into my own hands and try. They said they would help.”

“It’s complicated.”

“If you want someone to talk to, you know where I’ll be.”

* * *

“Barry says you’re married,” Ruth said.

“Joan and I have been together for a long time,” Jay said. “Barry’s met her. He invited her, but we weren’t sure, she’s planning on briefly dropping by later. You’re Nora’s sister. I can tell you. If you want to know.”

“I don’t know which would be harder.”

“Another time then.”

“I see her in him constantly. He used to stay with us during the school holidays, sometimes Iris would come with him for a little while if Joe couldn’t get the time off work, but he was always so much like Nora.”

“Then I’m sure your sister was an incredible woman.”

“I used to wonder what she’d think. If she’d feel like I abandoned him, like I should be doing more.”

“Barry loves Joe. Anyone can see that. I don’t think he feels that way.”

“He made the decision. He needed help that wasn’t available in Fallville, and he wanted to be in Central City, as much as Joe and I didn’t want him to, letting him see Henry at least stopped him running away to see him on his own. Barry was angry, and hurting, and letting him decide who he wanted to live with during school time and during the breaks was the one bit of control over his situation we could give back to him.”

“I didn’t know her. But I think she’d just be glad you listened to Barry and tried to do what you thought was right.”

“I hope so. I’m sorry, I-”

“No, you don’t have to apologise. It’s not a situation I thought I’d ever be in, and I’ve been travelling between universes for fourteen years.”

* * *

“Great job, kids,” Barry said. Eobard scowled from where he was sitting wearing power dampening handcuffs. “I am super proud of all of you, Kid Flash, I’m really glad you came to find me. Now we just have to throw him back to the future.”

“What happened to time travel being dangerous?” Eobard asked.

“It is, but you’re not supposed to be here, it’s better for you to go to jail in your own era.”

“I thought you were finally planning on stopping me permanently. Oh, I remember, Flashes don’t kill people, they don’t have the-”

“You are correct,” Barry said. “Flashes do not kill people, there is always another way and we’ll take it. This suit isn’t just because everything else kept catching fire, Eobard, it is my uniform, when I wear it I am representing everyone who wears this symbol and thus I must act accordingly. I never actually set out to fight crime and deal with time travelling dicks from the future, I just wanted to help people. That’s my priority.”

“Urgh,” Inertia groaned from where he was now hanging over Barry’s shoulders. “For a second there I thought you might not be totally lame.”

“No, he’s a huge dork,” Wallace said.

“I think you’re cool, Grampa,” Impulse, Barry’s grandson with the incredible amount of hair, said. He’d resumed hugging Barry immediately after Barry had lifted Inertia off him and hadn’t shown any signs of letting go yet.

“Thanks, kiddo,” Barry said.

“You know I’ll be back, Flash,” Eobard sneered. “And next time-”

“Yeah, whatever,” Barry said. “Let’s get you home.”

“I can take care of that for you, Flash.” Ava Sharpe stepped out a portal with a few people in suits.

“Director,” Barry said. “I’m not sure exactly which year he’s come from this time, but I suspect around 2476 again.”

“Not even going to take me back yourself?” Eobard asked. “I can’t imagine you’re happy about working with time travellers when you’re so against it, or are you just that big of a hypocrite?”

“Don’t take those cuffs off him,” Barry said. Director Sharpe nodded.

“Barry,” Iris’ voice cackled in his ear. “I distinctly remember you promising Eddie you wouldn’t be late and you have fifteen minutes and you’re wearing the wrong suit.”

“On my way,” Barry said. “Come on all of you.”

* * *

"And you've got your vows, you-"

"I'm ready, Ma," Eddie laughed. "I'm ready.”

“Hey, Eddie,” Ralph said. “Congratulations, Wally says Barry will be about ten minutes. He seems very...”

“Yeah, he got like this at Iris and Caitlin’s too,” Eddie said. “Linda will sort him out.”

“Great. Nice to meet you, Mrs Thawne and Mrs Thawne.”

Ralph headed back over to Wally.

“You really must explain how you met all these people, dear,” Eddie’s mother said. “They’re a very... mixed group.”

“She means weird,” Eddie’s grandmother said. “That Harry fellow looks exactly like Harrison Wells, and didn’t he...”

“That wasn’t the real Harrison Wells, this is the real Wells’ cousin who was very estranged, we think the fake Wells probably deliberately pushed him away to reduce his chances of getting found out, like he did with Tina McGee.”

“And Oliver Queen.”

“Barry saved his life once.”

“I can’t decide if moving to Central was the best or worst thing you’ve ever done.”

"The best, Grandma. Definitely the best."

* * *

“He’ll be here,” Iris said. “It’s only a young Eobard.”

“Not again,” Caitlin said. “Do you think he’s determined to interrupt every wedding?”

“He doesn’t know what today is,” Barry skidded in, closely followed by Avery, Danica, and Wallace, and with two small boys, one running next to him and one scowling in a fireman’s carry over Barry’s shoulders. “He’s too young, he doesn’t even know who I am yet.”

“I thought he was erased from existence?” Wallace asked.

“That’s his future.”

“But he was from the old timeline,” Danica asked. “So why is his young version in this one?”

“I am trying not to think about that. I know he held on for so long because he created this timeline and it needed him to exist to be stable.”

“I hate time travel,” Avery said.

“Me too,” Iris said. “Barry. These are...”

“Iris West-Snow!” one rushed forward to hug Iris.

“That’s Impulse, this is Inertia,” Barry said. “Apparently they’re my grandkids. If I put you down, how likely are you to start fighting again?”

“He’s a traitor,” Inertia said. “Our real grandfather sent me to find him.”

“He is not our grandfather,” Impulse said. Barry put Inertia down but kept a hand on his shoulder. “He’s a bad man.”

“You’re just jealous I’m the best one.”

“You’re jealous because Mom rescued me not-”

“Boys, enough,” Barry said. “I am going to get changed and leave a message for your mother, do not start fighting again or else.”

Barry turned to leave and Wallace rushed out after him.

“Well,” Caitlin said. “I suppose I should go and warn people he might be late.”

“I’ll take care of everything here.” Iris kissed Caitlin’s cheek. “I’m sure he won’t be long.”

Barry ran back in in his suit right as the breach Caitlin had opened closed. Iris adjusted his bow-tie.

“So, what are we doing with Impulse and Inertia? We can’t leave them here, and I don’t know how you’re going to explain them to anyone.”

“Avery, Danica, can you run and grab them some clothes?” Barry asked. Avery and Danica ran off. “I left a message I hope she’ll pick up that they’ll be at the wedding. I assume looking for you two is why she was in the past?”

“Who?” Iris asked.

“The purple speedster. She called me Dad when she helped with DeVoe’s satellites.”

“You met a real Tornado?” Impulse asked.

“Is she not your mother?” Barry asked.

“My mother’s called Meloni. She adopted me after she rescued me from the bad people, she said they made me from one of the Tornadoes which means that you’re my grandpa, she named me Bartholomew after you only she calls me Bart not Barry and the bad people kept coming after us so the Flash sent me back in time.”

“Oh,” Barry said.

“You were kidnapped and turned traitor,” Inertia said. “A.R.G.U.S. are just trying to protect people, she started the whole rebellion.” He pointed at Iris.

“Isn’t it cool?” Bart said. “It’s your news article Mom found that she found out Grampa’s name.”

“There’s a reason-”

“Boys,” Barry said. “Boys, I wasn’t kidding about the time travel. Inertia, do you have another name? You don’t have to tell me.”

“If he’s got your stupid name then you can call me Thaddeus after our real grandfather.”

“He’s not our grandfather!”

“He-”

“Well,” Barry said to Iris. “At least they’re not actively trying to murder each other anymore?”

“I think we need to talk to Zari,” Iris said. Danica and Avery ran back in.

“Got some,” Avery said.

“I’m so proud of all you kids,” Barry said. “How long?”

“Five minutes,” Iris said.

“Awesome, fantastic, can you three Kid Flashes go find Zari Tomaz? Don’t bring her here, just let her know I need to talk to her at some point. Thad, did you teach yourself to time travel?”

“Reverse Flash taught me. He’s a way better-”

“He also taught me stuff, I know he’s a good teacher, he’s also a bad person.”

“So’s Inertia,” Bart said

“No, the two of you are just kids,” Barry said. “You’re just kids, and whether you want me as a grandfather or not, I will keep you safe.”

“This other grandfather,” Iris said. “His name wouldn’t happen to be Thaddeus Thawne would it?”

Neither Bart nor Thad answered.

“I think I might know why Eobard might have decided to involve himself,” Iris said.

* * *

“You’re sure you’re all right, Cisco?” Caitlin asked.

“I’ll be fine,” Cisco said. “Painkillers still work.”

“Does someone need to tell Wally Barry might be late?” Ronnie asked.

“Not it,” Hartley said. “Is he not expecting that by now? Oh, there you go.” Iris rushed over. “He’s not with you.”

“He was right behind me,” Iris said. Lily ran up to them.

“So, Wally is getting to that point again, where is he?”

“I’m here!” Barry said. “I am here, I am not late, am I late?”

“You know what,” Caitlin said. “You’re right on time.”

“So,” Cisco said. “Congratulations are in order I hear.”

“Thanks, they’re with Dad and Joe, Wallace and Gideon are also keeping an eye on them.”

“Did you build an A.I.?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.”

“How,” Hartley said. “How did we get to the point where you have built a functioning A.I., given what we know of the future, which should be a sentence in itself, is probably the most advanced A.I. in the world, also your grandchildren from the future have shown up, and it just feels like a Tuesday.”

“Well, I got kidnapped by the Green Arrow’s friends to save his life when the most medical training I have is a first aid course and then I got struck by lightning, I don’t know about the rest of you, you found Ronnie way before I woke up.”

“I will accept the Professor and I were the first metahumans they officially encountered if you discount that you were there this whole time, just unconscious,” Ronnie said. “But I did not go looking for them, they went looking for me because Iris was investigating weird stuff and I guess everyone would have met anyway because Thawne would have brought you to S.T.A.R. Labs regardless, but everyone was already friends because Caitlin and Iris were dating.”

“Which happened because you brought us to Jitters,” Caitlin said. “Still makes it your fault.”

“I only brought you to Jitters because Cisco set fire to S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“It was tiny, everyone overreacted,” Cisco said. “I was testing a fireman’s suit, you need to make sure it won’t catch fire.”

“Wasn’t your entire desk on fire?” Hartley asked.

“No, half the top of my desk had fire on it, but I put it out myself and everything was fine. I didn’t even get burnt and I was the only one in the same room as it.”

“Well, I never thought I’d say this, but I am glad you decided to not pay any attention to health and safety,” Caitlin said. She intertwined her fingers with Iris’. “It’s a good life.”

“It’s great,” Lily said. “Possibly might be less great if Wally has to come out here and tell Barry he’s running late to his own wedding?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be a surprise,” Barry said. “But- Cynthia, you made it. And you are covered in blood.”

“I’m sorry,” Cynthia said. Her jacket was torn and blood was dripping from her nose. “I can’t stay, she’s sent her Hound after me, I had to warn you, she wants your Earth.”

“Who does?”

“Mordeth. She’s cruel, she rules Piradell, she has done since the war, but it’s dying, she’s killed it, and she’s planning on moving onto this Earth next and it’s my fault, if I hadn’t spent so much time here-”

“Woah, Cindy, hey,” Barry said. “Hey, it’s okay, whatever it is we’ll-”

A wave of energy sent them all flying and Caitlin pulled Iris close. She felt the drop in temperature as she pulled in the heat and she knew her eyes and hair had changed colour.

Barry had already changed into his suit by the time Caitlin made it to him. She had her mask in her bag. There was only one person standing there, dressed in some kind of red and white armour, a red cloak draped across their back, their face fully covered by a red mask, and holding a scythe, but Cynthia flickered. She’d mentioned once she could turn invisible, but Caitlin had never seen her do it. She’d never seen Cynthia afraid, but she didn’t need Cecile’s new empathy powers to feel the waves of fear coming off her now.

Ruining her dress was the least of her concerns if Cynthia was afraid of this person.

Caitlin could see Iris with Cisco out the corner of her eye. They’d look after each other. Jason would have felt whatever that was through Ronnie, he wouldn’t be long, and he’d probably warn everyone.

“Okay,” Barry said. “Okay, let’s all take a step back here, shall we?”

“Princess Cynnthia,” the armoured person spoke. “Your mother demands you return to her at once.”

“Of course,” Cynthia said.

“No,” Barry said. “She’s not going anywhere with you.”

“Are you challenging me, speedster?”

“No,” Cynthia said. “He’s not. I’ll go with you.”

“Cindy-”

“You cannot fight Rupture,” Cynthia said. “Flash, I do not care what your powers are, or how well you can use them, he will kill you. I warned you. That was all I came here to do.”

“Rupture?” Lily asked. “Dante Ramon?”

Rupture flinched and removed his mask. He straightened again within seconds.

“The Empress has demanded her daughter’s return,” Rupture said. “Step aside.”

“I challenge you to trial by combat,” Cisco said. There was a woman with Iris now.

“Cisco, what are you doing?” Hartley asked.

“I, Francisco Baracus Ramon, challenge you to trial by combat,” Cisco said.

“Paco?” Rupture asked, so quietly Caitlin barely heard it.

“If I win, Cynthia and you stay with us, and Mordeth never leaves her own Earth. If I lose, I offer myself in the Princess’ place.”

“Why would my mistress accept your terms?” Rupture asked.

“They call me Vibe,” Cisco said. “Like Cynthia, I am a breacher, it is a breacher and their energy she requires. As I am from Earth-1, I have a far stronger connection than Cynthia does as a visitor. Your scythe is a focus, I don’t need one.” The ground shook as Cisco clenched his fist. “This world is defended. I know the heroes. I would be able to provide information for strategy. And because if she does not accept then I will be meeting her on the battlefield and she does not want that.”

“You are so certain of yourself, Vibe.”

“I have been informed of Piradell’s customs by Cynthia and I request twenty-four hours to prepare. You may use the time to discuss my proposal with Mordeth. If you accept the challenge, I will be waiting in University Park. There’s a birch tree, you know which one.”

“I have never been bested in trial by combat, Vibe.”

“Neither have I. And I’m too big for you to just pick up and carry off now. Are we agreed?”

“I will discuss your proposal with the Empress. The Princess-”

“Stays with me for the moment. I will see you in twenty-four hours, Armando. Run back to your empress now, I have a wedding to attend.”

“Enjoy your last day, Vibe,” Rupture said. He cut a breach open with his scythe and stepped through.

“Cisco, what the hell did you just do?” Cynthia asked. “I have to-”

“Tell me what you know about Rupture,” Cisco said.

“He fell from the sky. I told you we had a war with Earth-18 and the Plastoids?”

“Yes.”

“Twenty years ago, scientists discovered our universe was not the only one. Four years into the project they first made contact with Earth-18 and the Plastoids, but talks broke down and war broke out. Mordeth quickly rose to power. And two years into the war Earth-18 was ripped apart by a Singularity. We were told it was caused by their own hubris, that they had attempted to permanently open a breach to Piradell, but there’s so much propaganda, it could just as easily have been her intentionally destroying Earth-18.”

“I’ve been vibing that,” Cisco said. “It opened breaches between all the Earths, fourteen years ago.”

“Yes,” Cynthia said. “The Collection Agency was started as a response to that, to fix the damage. The Singularity had another effect.”

“It was a source of the dark matter particle that triggers the metagene,” Caitlin said.

“Yes. It’s when my father and I developed our powers, and when Mordeth developed hers. She manipulates minds. Controls people. I think she used to be kinder. Not anymore. Not for a long time. Or maybe she just used to hide it better. Maybe I just used to wish she was. She gained more power, styled herself the Empress of Piradell, and Piradell fell. It’s dying. So much damage from the war, from the Singularity, from her Raptors, it’s dying and she knows there are other Earths. She wants them all. She just picked this one first to punish me for disobeying her and siding with Dad against her.”

“Rupture fell through a breach,” Cisco said.

“And he became her Hound. Her devoted servant who follows her every command. I think he was the first she controlled with her powers and as they grew her control over him tightened.”

“That explains some things.”

“She wants to combine my powers and Rupture’s to open a breach large enough to march her armies through. Dad fought against her for years, he founded a resistance, kept the Collection Agency as outside of her control as possible, but now his powers have gone and he’s been replaced by one of her loyal servants, not me like he intended. With his powers gone there’s no one to keep me from her again.”

“Except us,” Lily said.

“Mordeth is my mother. Even if she claims to agree to this trial, whatever the outcome, she will come for me, she will never let Rupture go, and now she knows about Cisco she will want him. I’ve seen her machine. It will tear you apart.”

“That’s fine,” Cisco said.

“Cisco,” Iris said.

“I did say I’d never lost a trial by combat before. Have a little faith.”

“Not fighting one is not the same as never losing one.”

“He won’t win.”

“He’s never lost,” Cynthia said. “I’ve seen him fight armies.”

“He still knows me. He won’t hurt me.”

“I don’t think he’s your Armando, Cisco,” Hartley said.

“Sorry,” Barry said. “Sorry. Rupture is who?”

“My brother,” Cisco said.

“Earth-2 Rupture was Dante, you think this Rupture is-”

“My Armando died fourteen years ago,” Cisco said. “Right when all those breaches were opening. There was a bright light which we assumed were car headlights but there was no body and there was a loud noise but not a car engine, there was a reason for me to be having vibes of Earth-18’s destruction and that night. I was there, I know he’s my Mando.”

“He’s right,” the woman said. Barry immediately ran to scoop her into a hug. “Oh.”

“How are you so sure?” Ronnie asked.

“Um. I don’t... My name’s Dawn West-Allen? I’m from the future.”

“West-Allen?” Caitlin asked.

“Hi, Mom,” Dawn said. “Um. I wasn’t, I was really only planning on doing some recon because someone has been messing with time, but all this is three days early and also really important that it happens.”

“Would that have anything to do with Bart and Thad?” Iris asked.

“Thad?” Dawn asked. “I’m not really sure, I know Meloni rescued a boy from A.R.G.U.S. that they made using Nora’s DNA at least mostly, and I know he was Speed Ageing like Irey and Jai did, and A.R.G.U.S. were after them, so Avery sent Bart back in time, Nora and Meloni went to find him, we all came after them, but someone’s been making subtle changes, like there was a thing I don’t know if I can say exactly what but something stopped Wallace becoming Kid Flash after your wedding which meant Dad got arrested, and it’s all really tiny changes, I know Druce and his agents are making changes but they’re new at this. I think they’re the one who made Cicada appear years early, for other reasons I don’t know if I should say or not, but-”

“I think I have a theory about who might be behind that,” Iris said. “Unfortunately. We’ll figure it all out, sweetheart, I promise. Right after this we’ll go talk to Rip, Miranda, and Zari.”

“I actually already know Zari and she’s already been helping us,” Dawn said. “Um. Not because I think it’s fine to tell you this and not other things, but because it’s probably going to come up, Ronnie, Uncle Cisco and Uncle Hartley’s son, he was really close with Zari’s brother Behrad and they’re both avoiding each other because they both think the other one will blame them for Behrad’s death while they’re both blaming themselves?”

“We can fix that too,” Cisco said.

“Son?” Hartley asked.

“Hey, guys?” Wally ran over. “You know everyone’s waiting, why are you wearing that, and why is Cynthia covered in blood?”

“Everything’s fine,” Cisco said. “We’re coming.”

“Cisco just challenged his supposedly dead extremely powerful and brainwashed brother to trial by combat,” Ronnie said. “There’s about to be an invasion from Cynthia’s world. Someone’s messing with time. This is Barry, Iris, Caitlin, and I’m guessing Eddie’s daughter, Cisco and Hartley have a son also called Ronnie. Either I need to visit home more, or someone should check how many painkillers Caitlin gave Cisco.”

“We will figure it out,” Barry said. “Wally, can you let everyone know we might need them to stick around for a few days so we can help Cynthia stop her dictator mother?”

“It’s too late for Piradell,” Cynthia said. “And too dangerous.”

“I'm helping, Cynthia, you're my friend, and you've helped save my world, the least I can do is help save yours. Besides, it's Cisco's brother, I'm helping.”

“We all are,” Iris said.

“Cool,” Wally said. “So…”

“We have twenty-four hours before Armando comes back,” Cisco said. “Probably less, but we at least have time for Barry and Eddie to get married, go get changed again.”

“Feel like maybe you’re going to have to tell everyone in there you’re the Flash,” Lily said.

“Probably,” Barry said. “Oh well, most of them know anyway. Dawnie, Bart and Thad are inside, you should probably come in to pick them up.”

“Is that a good idea?” Dawn asked.

“Nora saved my life, and I’m pretty sure walking inside a building will cause far less damage to the timeline than anything the Legends have done. I should tell Captain Singh everything’s fine here too.”

“I should find Jason,” Ronnie said. “Last I saw he was with the Professor and Clarissa, Lily?”

“Sure,” Lily said. “Come on, Cindy, I’ll help you get cleaned up, you can sit with Laurel and me.”

“And I should talk to Jerrie,” Hartley said. “You are not leaving my sight.”

“Technically I was in your sight when I made that decision,” Cisco said. “I’m not going to lose, and I’m the best man, so really-”

“Joint best person,” Iris said.

“Yes, I’m the best man, you’re the best woman, my point is-”

Hartley looped his arm through Cisco’s and followed Wally, the two of them bickering.

Iris smiled at Caitlin.

“Ready?”

“It will be fine,” Caitlin said.

“Course it will,” Iris said. “I have faith in you, and all our friends, we’ll help Cindy, save Cisco’s brother, help our kids, stop Black Hole, whatever the future throws at us, we can handle it.”

“We don’t know what the future will bring. We don’t have a future newspaper anymore.”

“No. And this is Central City, anything could happen. But whatever happens, whether it be a Crisis across the multiverse, alien invasions, many bank robberies by Lisa, kids, weddings, whatever, I know I will be facing it with you.”

"I'm so glad Cisco set fire to S.T.A.R. Labs that time."

"Me too. Ready for the next chapter, Cait? I'll hold your hand."

"And I'm never letting go."

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Post-script:  
> "So," Eddie said. "We need to save our world and Cynthia's from her evil mother, Cisco's brother isn't dead, someone is messing with time but it's not our kids and grandkids who are here from the future, Cicada is after me because he knows I'm a metahuman, and also Axel Walker has decided you're his best friend."  
> "Yeah," Barry said. "I think the honeymoon might have to wait."
> 
> This took a little longer than anctipated, it ended up completely rewritten several times from the original draft, but I think that sums up this whole series perfectly. It started three years ago just to fill a prompt for a femslash week and honestly I only picked Iris/Caitlin because there were so many people arguing about Westallen vs Snowbarry at the time. And so much did change from that original plan I wrote out when I realised this AU was not leaving my head- originally Barry and Cisco were supposed to end up together with Hartley/Eddie written next to it with a question mark- but it is the only time I have planned something so extensively, it contains some of the longest fics I have ever written (Beans is the longest, passing 100,000 words), and it has been so much of my concerntration and daydreams for so long I think that's why this one was so much harder than I thought, why it kept going through rewrites and changing ideas, it's the end, it's the last thing to write. And it was always meant to be open ended, it was meant to end with the reveal Armando was alive and the Justice League forming to stop Mordeth right from the moment it became bigger than just a series 1 AU (which was right after the Westallen wedding episode aired, I very much wanted to rewrite that, it's the first chapter that had a name), but it is the point I depart and leave them with their worlds to save, bad guys to stop, usual Tuesday things. It's the end, but there's new beginnings for them, and for me, I have several ideas which have taken a backseat while I work on this I can now turn my attention to. And I'm sure I'll revist in daydreams, I think it's a series I will always have a fondness for, I have enjoyed writing it and I have learnt a lot from it. Still can't spell coffee names and still haven't been in a coffee shop though.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has commented and encouraged me, those mean a lot, and I hope you have enjoyed it too. 
> 
> And once more, for old time's sake even if not much made it in, here's a couple of sources:  
> https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/448431/jewish/The-Wedding.htm  
> www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/rites/weddings_1.shtml  
> https://www.brides.com/jewish-wedding-traditions-4783360


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